Sound System Recommendations

[asdfghjkl987]

Hey guys

 

Looking for 2 speakers and a soundbar do you have any recommendations?

 

Below £250 GBP if possible.

 

TIA

[Bombastinator]

So two separate systems?  Sound bars generally take the place of front stereo speakers unless you’re trying to do 5.1 surround.  If you are you may need 3 speakers one of which is a powered sub.  Bright side is for 5.1 surround any junk speaker will work for the last two.  They just need to be the same. 

[asdfghjkl987]

2 minutes ago, Bombastinator said:

So two separate systems?  Sound bars generally take the place of front stereo speakers unless you’re trying to do 5.1 surround.  If you are you may need 3 speakers one of which is a powered sub.  Bright side is for 5.1 surround any junk speaker will work for the last two.  They just need to be the same. 

Not looking for surround or anything in particular, it going to mainly be for music or when watching movies when I don't want to wear my headphones.

Do you suggest any speakers and/or soundbar?

[dalekphalm]

39 minutes ago, asdfghjkl987 said:

Hey guys

 

Looking for 2 speakers and a soundbar do you have any recommendations?

 

Below £250 GBP if possible.

 

TIA

Can you clarify your request?

 

Are you looking to buy a single system that has a soundbar and 2 speakers?

 

Two different systems? One a soundbar, and a separate system with 2 speakers?

 

Or are you looking at different options for the same system - a soundbar OR 2 speakers?

[asdfghjkl987]

1 minute ago, dalekphalm said:

Can you clarify your request?

 

Are you looking to buy a single system that has a soundbar and 2 speakers?

 

Two different systems? One a soundbar, and a separate system with 2 speakers?

 

Or are you looking at different options for the same system - a soundbar OR 2 speakers?

Preferably a single system that has a soundbar and 2 speakers but I would also be open to two different systems that I would be able to use at the same time.

[dalekphalm]

3 minutes ago, asdfghjkl987 said:

Preferably a single system that has a soundbar and 2 speakers but I would also be open to two different systems that I would be able to use at the same time.

Why do you want a soundbar with 2 speakers? What configuration do you want out of that? How will you be arranging the setup in the room?

[asdfghjkl987]

3 minutes ago, dalekphalm said:

Why do you want a soundbar with 2 speakers? What configuration do you want out of that? How will you be arranging the setup in the room?

It was just an idea I had, if you think it wouldn't work can you suggest something similar or better?

 

I don't have a lot of room so the soundbar was going inbetween my two monitors that are mounted vertically (one above the other) and the two speakers on the wall either side of the top monitor.

[dalekphalm]

2 minutes ago, asdfghjkl987 said:

It was just an idea I had, if you think it wouldn't work can you suggest something similar or better?

It just doesn't make a lot of sense, is all.

 

A basic soundbar is essentially a "cabinet" that already holds 2 speakers in a 2.0 configuration. You can of course buy more expensive soundbars that expand on that (2.1 being the most common upgrade, where it's a sounbar (2.0) + a sub connected either via a cable or over wireless - they also make 5.1 soundbars that are 3.0 (2.0 + centre channel) + a sub + 2 rear speakers, usually wireless).

 

You could "in theory" take a soundbar and use it in conjunction with 2 external speakers, but you'd either have to splice cables, buy adapters that splice them, or use something like an AV Receiver to connect them all together.

2 minutes ago, asdfghjkl987 said:

I don't have a lot of room so the soundbar was going inbetween my two monitors that are mounted vertically (one above the other) and the two speakers on the wall either side of the top monitor.

In a situation like you describe there's not much benefit to adding speakers to the sides of the monitors. The soundbar will already handle stereo left and right sound, and you're better off getting a more powerful soundbar rather than adding 2 external speakers and trying to figure out how to splice them into the audio source.

 

You could get a 5.1 soundbar setup, where you would have the Soundbar itself, which contains the Centre channel plus front left and front right stereo channels. Then there would be a sub, usually wireless, and then there would be rear left and rear right speakers, also usually wireless. You'd need somewhere to stick the rear speakers mind you (A wall or stands, and most likely would require a power outlet). 5.1 soundbars like this are not cheap though - especially good sounding ones.

 

So, my next question is: What's your budget? You should probably just get the best soundbar you can afford in your budget and call it a day.

[asdfghjkl987]

5 minutes ago, dalekphalm said:

It just doesn't make a lot of sense, is all.

 

A basic soundbar is essentially a "cabinet" that already holds 2 speakers in a 2.0 configuration. You can of course buy more expensive soundbars that expand on that (2.1 being the most common upgrade, where it's a sounbar (2.0) + a sub connected either via a cable or over wireless - they also make 5.1 soundbars that are 3.0 (2.0 + centre channel) + a sub + 2 rear speakers, usually wireless).

 

You could "in theory" take a soundbar and use it in conjunction with 2 external speakers, but you'd either have to splice cables, buy adapters that splice them, or use something like an AV Receiver to connect them all together.

In a situation like you describe there's not much benefit to adding speakers to the sides of the monitors. The soundbar will already handle stereo left and right sound, and you're better off getting a more powerful soundbar rather than adding 2 external speakers and trying to figure out how to splice them into the audio source.

 

You could get a 5.1 soundbar setup, where you would have the Soundbar itself, which contains the Centre channel plus front left and front right stereo channels. Then there would be a sub, usually wireless, and then there would be rear left and rear right speakers, also usually wireless. You'd need somewhere to stick the rear speakers mind you (A wall or stands, and most likely would require a power outlet). 5.1 soundbars like this are not cheap though - especially good sounding ones.

 

So, my next question is: What's your budget? You should probably just get the best soundbar you can afford in your budget and call it a day.

Thanks for all the info, appreciate you taking your time to type all that.

 

Budget would be around the £250 GBP

[dalekphalm]

4 minutes ago, asdfghjkl987 said:

Thanks for all the info, appreciate you taking your time to type all that.

 

Budget would be around the £250 GBP

No worries. Okay so now what I would recommend is do a search for “recommended sound bars 2020” and have a look at the review lists. They usually break them down by price range. Then you’ll need to find pricing in the UK (Amazon UK usually). Some sites will automatically show the Amazon local pricing but you’ll want to double check before making a decision. 
 

We can help you narrow down your choices too. 

[asdfghjkl987]

7 minutes ago, dalekphalm said:

No worries. Okay so now what I would recommend is do a search for “recommended sound bars 2020” and have a look at the review lists. They usually break them down by price range. Then you’ll need to find pricing in the UK (Amazon UK usually). Some sites will automatically show the Amazon local pricing but you’ll want to double check before making a decision. 
 

We can help you narrow down your choices too. 

What do you think of these three?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sony-soundbar-Subwoofer-Bluetooth-Surround-black/dp/B07MF9QSQT?SubscriptionId=AKIAJV4KMHBMUG36SMIQ&tag=pcmaguk-21&linkCode=xm2&camp=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=B07MF9QSQT&ascsubtag=f6af2b3a-6792-4248-827c-eafed0c1d4ca

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07MNB8RP7?tag=georiot-trd-21&th=1&psc=1&ascsubtag=trd-9311536700623567345-21

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Acoustics-M3-Soundbar-Built-Subwoofer/dp/B01M1UMNF0/ref=sr_1_1?adgrpid=54747678418&gclid=CjwKCAiA66_xBRBhEiwAhrMuLZuVkAVaNXAvZCpwd7Gb9XRDHPebxit8EmoN7mVPv8vQ2CiYNq33txoCf7YQAvD_BwE&hvadid=259005145623&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9045006&hvnetw=g&hvpos=1t1&hvqmt=e&hvrand=14375181823428126530&hvtargid=kwd-316339827563&hydadcr=25723_1822198&keywords=q+acoustics+m3&qid=1579965474&sr=8-1

[dalekphalm]

17 minutes ago, asdfghjkl987 said:

What do you think of these three?

All 3 are great choices.

17 minutes ago, asdfghjkl987 said:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sony-soundbar-Subwoofer-Bluetooth-Surround-black/dp/B07MF9QSQT?SubscriptionId=AKIAJV4KMHBMUG36SMIQ&tag=pcmaguk-21&linkCode=xm2&camp=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=B07MF9QSQT&ascsubtag=f6af2b3a-6792-4248-827c-eafed0c1d4ca

This one is the "budget" choice - should sound decent, will have killer bass compared to the other two, but lacks advanced audio codecs like Master Audio or Dolby Atmos.

17 minutes ago, asdfghjkl987 said:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07MNB8RP7?tag=georiot-trd-21&th=1&psc=1&ascsubtag=trd-9311536700623567345-21

This is an overall upgrade to the other Sony unit, slightly better speakers, built-in sub (won't be as good bass as the top one, but should still be serviceable), but also has excellent features, more sound codec support, etc.

17 minutes ago, asdfghjkl987 said:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Acoustics-M3-Soundbar-Built-Subwoofer/dp/B01M1UMNF0/ref=sr_1_1?adgrpid=54747678418&gclid=CjwKCAiA66_xBRBhEiwAhrMuLZuVkAVaNXAvZCpwd7Gb9XRDHPebxit8EmoN7mVPv8vQ2CiYNq33txoCf7YQAvD_BwE&hvadid=259005145623&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9045006&hvnetw=g&hvpos=1t1&hvqmt=e&hvrand=14375181823428126530&hvtargid=kwd-316339827563&hydadcr=25723_1822198&keywords=q+acoustics+m3&qid=1579965474&sr=8-1

This one will likely sound better than either of the others (bass aside), but it seems to lack some of the features of the X8500.

 

If you're a bass head, I'd go with the top option - or look at something else in the $200-$250 GBP range that includes an external sub.

 

If you're not particularly obsessed with bass, both of the bottom options are good - depends on whether you want the best sound or more features. If you watch a lot of Blu-Ray or movies in general, the Sony X8500 will probably be more useful with all of the codecs it supports - if you listen to mostly music, the Acoustics is probably going to be better.